NASA Designs All-Electric Personal Flight Vehicle

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NASA Designs All-Electric Personal Flight Vehicle

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 20, 2010 @02:36PM from the touch-the-sky dept.

MikeChino writes "NASA is currently working on a personal aircraft that will put jet packs to shame. The Puffin is an all-electric one-man airplane that could be the start of some new and amazing air travel technology. With two prop electric engines, lithium phosphate batteries and a top speed of almost 300 mph, the vertical take off and landing vehicle was originally designed for covert military insertions because it has a lower heat signature than combustion engines. The Puffin would also be super quiet – 10 times quieter than current low-noise helicopters, and since the engine is electric it has no flight ceiling and can fly up to 9,150 meters high, uninhibited by thin air."

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psst, NASA, just one little thing. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2010-01-20 14:44 · Score: 5, Funny

Those little bars on the display that shows the charge remaining? Don't trust it. It does not work.

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Re:"No flight ceiling" by rockNme2349 · 2010-01-20 15:05 · Score: 4, Funny

That was my personal favorite quote.

It has no flight ceiling... so it could go up to about 9,150 meters

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Re: Is Elmer Gantry Available? by Tablizer · 2010-01-20 15:08 · Score: 2, Funny

being turned into a frozen, air starved corpse is not a goal for most of us.
Exceptions for lawyers, politicians, and SCO employees.

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Thank you, Google! by _merlin · 2010-01-20 16:03 · Score: 5, Funny

PSA: don't blindly search Google if you want to find out what a "three-holer" is - I don't think any of the top hits are what he's referring to.
Re:My question is.. by jamesh · 2010-01-20 17:09 · Score: 2, Funny

"Puffin Man" doesn't have quite the same ring to it though, compared to the names of other super hero's...
I see... by DieByWire · 2010-01-20 17:10 · Score: 4, Funny

I see dead people.

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Re:"No flight ceiling" by wagnerrp · 2010-01-20 20:31 · Score: 2, Funny

As for ultimate limits, the difference between stalling and breaking the sound barrier was about 50 knots for the U2 flights. That may have been plus or minus 50', but I think it was actually +/-25. Memory fails. Anyway, 68K feet is a *seriously* nerve-wracking place to fly if your airplane can't do Mach.
It was +/- 5 knots. Luckily at that altitude, there are no gusts.
Re:"No flight ceiling" by aug24 · 2010-01-20 21:40 · Score: 3, Funny

For me, the sheer fear factor of looking down from 9000 meters (30,000 feet) in not much more than my flight suit would be more than I'd be ready for.

Yeah. To correct the GP:

In fact, up that high you'd be messing with the three-holer transport jets and would probably need a pretty high-quality heated flight suit with a built in diaper.

Justin.

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Re:Capt. 'Cannonballs' Kittinger by Zordak · 2010-01-21 00:27 · Score: 3, Funny

I found my minimum altitude for releasing my chute was approximately 385 feet, but it hurt! (we were advised that the minimum altitude was 500 feet...I had to test this)
So are you still chasing that Darwin Award, or have you given up ;-)

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